Is it that they don't want him in the middle or that they want him in the team but he can't fit in the middle?

Two opposing camps apparently. Arthur wants the middle to lower order to be attacking minded which implies no Prince whilst as Ashwell use to be VC and is an experienced player, Procter doesn't want to dump him. A poor first test than that should be the end of Prince' international career but like Neil Mac, I fancy he will actually prefer opening in the subcontinent than batting five.

Prince supposedly doesn't get on with a lot of people in the side and has a strained relationship with the board, so it is surprising that Procter and Smith are batting for him.

Virus is in the squad and he opens domestically. As has Botha to pretty good success. Elgar, Puttick even Rossouw and Vandiar can open albeit only so far in limited overs cricket but they have the ability to bat anywhere. So there are opitions, its just that Procter, Smith and Fletcher are all big on Prince and they don't want him to bat in the middle order anymore.

Should Sehwag score on them the term Flat would be annexed to it as well..

Well if it's a dustbowl and South Africa don't have a spinner, it pretty much would be.

Sreesanth said, "Next ball he was beaten and I said, 'is this the King Charles Lara? Who is this impostor, moving around nervously? I should have kept my mouth shut for the next ball - mind you, it was a length ball - Lara just pulled it over the church beyond the boundary! He is a true legend."

Fast bowlers can do well in dustbowls... FFS, low and slow conditions and variable bounce can be used by any good bowler..

We miss you, Fardin. :(. RIP.

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

In the end, I think it's so utterly, incomprehensibly boring. There is so much context behind each innings of cricket that dissecting statistics into these small samples is just worthless. No-one has ever been faced with the same situation in which they come out to bat as someone else. Ever.

If memory serves me correct the last time I saw the new Nagpur ground it was AUS vs IND ODI and it looked like it had a fair bit of bounce and pace in it compared to the other Indian pitches. If it is the case it could be a very interesting test match and obviously Eden Gardens is very special and could inspire the SA boys playing there.

In the long term I think it would be beneficial for Indian cricket if they keep the new Nagpur stadiums pitch quicker and bouncier than the rest of the Indian pitches. Whether to play SA there now may not have been a wise idea though.

In SA and AUS our main 5 pitches are all different to one another and its extremely beneficial to the players games to be tested on differing pitches and Nagpur could be good for Indian cricket if it remains the way I saw it last.

Loots Bosman is a T20 player really and at times can be destructive in the 50 over version but is definitely not a test cricketer. I think the SA selectors feel if he goes out early who cares but if he comes off its carnage and he won't use up too many balls. I think they may go to 6 batsman, keeper, Spinner, 3 quicks route.

Prince looked ordinary against Swann so he may not be that great in the middle-order anyway. I read where there was a lot of tension after Prince was left out initially when fit again because Duminy had done so well. Prince thought that AB should return to opening after McKenzie was dropped but he didn't want to. Apparently he bad-mouthed de Villiers in a domestic game and got into heated discussions with several of the SA players. He's said to be quite strong-willed.

Fast bowlers can do well in dustbowls... FFS, low and slow conditions and variable bounce can be used by any good bowler..

Low and slow is useless to all bowlers.

Bounce and carry is what all bowlers need.

Variable bounce is just unfair to batsmen.

The perfect Sub Cont pitch is turn from the start and bounce. The seamers can use the bounce and at least be useful if they bowl well and the spinners play a part from the beginning. The batsmen have a chance if they play well (no to variable bounce) and its a spin challenge.

It NOT about dustbowls, its about spin and bounce. But to be honest they havent produced decent pitches in India for a while now.

Considering SA's perceived weakness against spin, 2 spinners would have to play. But the question is which ones? Bhajji and Ojha playing together is more suited to ODIs. A wkt taking spinner like Mishy has to get a look in for one of the spots. Also I have heard abt Ashwin

So here: Mishy + ?

And since we have 2 pacers + 2 spinners, what would be a better: an fast bowling all-rounder or a 7 (playing at #6) batsman or a 5th bowler in a pacer?